Pregnant and In the Spotlight

     Just recently, I sat back and thought about what it might be like to be a pregnant celebrity. While our society has placed this sort of bliss over being pregnant, I feel that the pregnant women feel the urge to 'play it cool' and act like their pregnancy is the time of their life. Rarely do we see them binge-eating or wearing bumb clothes. And I am sure that is because they know they would be going against what our society knows of this blissful experience.

  Of course Blake Lively looks stunning, and better than I do with a non-pregnant 20 year old body. She looks so happy, which is just confusing to me considering all of the physical and hormonal issues that I know women are facing while being pregnant. 

     While I think these photos are absolutely beautiful, I wonder where this somewhat recent obsession came from. I think it is great that women are portrayed as beautiful and sexy, even when they're pregnant. But I'm sure that they don't feel that way half the time.

   I guess I'm not sure what my exact stance is on this topic, but it is definitely something that is interesting to think about. I wonder if celebrities feel extra pressure to have that "pregnancy glow." If they want to eat cheese and look like shit, then I hope they feel comfortable enough to do so!

Miley Cyrus and Liam Back Together?

   While there is no confirmation, there are several rumors floating around the world of Hollywood that ex-lovers Miley Cyrus and Liam Hemsworth are back together. Miley and Liam met in 2009 on the set of the film "The Last Song" and started dating during this time.

     They dated for a few years, with a break-up in between, and then in 2012 engagement rumors started to swirl, and those rumors were confirmed in the summer of 2012. After fifteen months, the couple broke off the engagement but apparently remained friends.
    But now to flash forward to today. Miley Cyrus is fresh off of her break up with Patrick Schwarzenegger, and it is said that Liam is being a great comfort for her. But just how comforting can an ex-fiance be? My bet is that the couple rekindles the flame. I don't think they will date again, for now anyway, but there's no way that they have lost all feelings for each other.
   Apparently the couple has been spending time together in LA, and enjoyed a night out at Soho House in West Hollywood together. Because I am a fan of the movie, I am somehow rooting for these two. I know a lot of people have strong opinions of Miley Cyrus, but I really did think that they made a good pair.
   ... Stay tuned for the possible love return of Miam!

Kylie Jenner Lip Challenge

      I really don't understand the Kylie Jenner lip challenge. And from what I've read from other blogs and news outlets, nobody really knows the real purpose or where the idea even originated from. In case you are unfamiliar, social media has blown up in the past couple of days with the hasthag #lipchallenge. Men and women have been taking extreme measures in an attempt to make their lips appear as voluptuous as Kylie Jenner. The most common that people are doing this is through sucking on a shot glass until your lips bruise, and thus making your bottom lip appear bigger. When you search #lipchallenege, over 9,000 hits come onto the screen, and then an additional 300 hits  come up when you search #lipchallengefail.
      While many people are wanting to look like this:

       They end up looking like the below image. And I don't show this picture to make fun of the individual, but to instead show the dangerous influence that Kylie's lips are having on the vulnerable teen group that is attempting to look like her.

     There are thousands of these pictures surfing the web, and it leaves me confused and worried about this generation. Kylie Jenner is even confused as to where the fad came from and why it is happening. According to Hollywood Life, an anonymous source close to Kylie says that, "Kylie’s not trying to be a trendsetter by any means with her lips. She had no idea some people would go to these very dangerous lengths in an attempt to make their lips fuller. She wants it to stop and believes all beauty comes from within.”
      While that's a great message to be saying to young girls, it's also contradictory when Kylie herself uses lip injections to make her lips bigger. Hopefully this nonsense will stop soon, before more young girls make the painful attempt.

April 28 Birthday Spotlight: Jessica Alba

    Jessica Alba is who my father considers to be one of the most beautiful women in the world, and I completely agree with him. The reason I chose to do a spotlight on her is because I saw a tweet that said it was her birthday, then I realized I hadn't heard about her in awhile, so I thought I would do some digging to see what she has been up to lately. Jessica Alba turns 33 today, but the last movie I personally went to see her in was in Valentine's Day back in 2010. But what most of my male friends still obsess over is her role in Fantastic Four. But in case you've been living under a rock, yes, she is married to Cash Warren, whom she met while filming Fantastic Four, and they have two children together.

    While she is having some roles in movies and television, her greatest project is the company she assisted in founding back in 2012. She founded the Honest Company, which is a consumer goods company that researches and sells non-toxic household products to supply families with the option to shop ethically. The company is based off of social responsibility in an attempt to promote health and sustainability through baby, feeding/health and wellness, cleaning, and personal care products. More information about this interesting business concept and organization can be found by clicking here.

  The fact that she was doing all of this work in addition to her role in Hollywood came as a complete surprise to me. I'm always pleasantly surprised to see celebrities using their fame to do good work for others. Such an honest woman. Pun totally intended.

 Happy Birthday, Jessica Alba!

Bruce Jenner and the Transformation

   Sex reassignment surgery is something that I only recently began to understand. Generally speaking, and very generally speaking, the United States is a country very uncomfortable with the process of sexual reassignment, and transgender individuals in general. The Washington Post estimates that 700,000 Americans are transgender. And every year, less than 500 people go through with a sexual reassignment surgery, with a majority of the surgeries being males changing to females. While I'm not posing my own opinions on the subject, I am interested as to the reasoning behind America's obsession with Bruce Jenner's transformation. Below is a picture of Bruce from his Olympian days.

 

      This is where I get confused. Are people confused because of his past experience as a successful male athlete? Or are people obsessed with his transformation because it adds to the spice of life we call the Kardashian family? While the sexual reassignment surgery is uncommon in the United States, I can't decide for myself why it is receiving so much attention. While Bruce Jenner was as stud of an athlete, I think he is more notable because of his daughters and their own scandalous lives.

  What are your thoughts, readers?

Celebrities and Relief Efforts: Pray for Nepal

     Every news station is currently covering the devastation that has hit Nepal in the last week with a 7.8 magnitude earthquake. The death toll has reached approximately 4,000 people, and countries all over the world are viewing video and pictures of the turmoil that has hit this country. I visited Nepal this past winter and seeing these reports has affected me in a way that I've never really felt before. So often we hear of natural disasters that completely destroy countries or cities, and we wait in anticipation for the relief efforts to be seen. 

     I constantly struggle with celebrity support in regards to such disasters. While tweeting and posting pictures on your Instagram are helpful, I do believe that they could be doing more to help with the situation. For example, celebrities such as Kim Kardashian and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson have tweeted their prayers and support for Nepal, but I feel like there has to be something else that celebrities can do. But do the people of Nepal even want them there at this time? I always find myself having conflicting thoughts about what celebrities should and should not do in regards to natural disaster relief and/or foreign aid. Would it be better or worse to have celebrities on the ground helping with efforts or should they show their public support for the cause just like everyone else?

     I guess what I'm saying is that I find myself at a standstill of this complex issue. I have studied this before in one of my classes, and I would love to hear from you! What do you think the role of celebrities should be in tough times like these?

http://www.eonline.com/news/650458/nepal-earthquake-kills-more-than-2-500-celebs-such-as-dwayne-johnson-kim-and-khloe-kardashian-tweet-prayers

http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/poverty-matters/2010/dec/17/celebrity-aid-development-bono-brad-pitt

Full House is BACK

A lot of my friends are still in shock about the Full House announcement. Last night, on Jimmy Kimmel Live, John Stamos announced that the cast of Full House would be returning to our homes in the form of a new show, Fuller House. This time, though, the show will be on Netflix, which is probably a smart idea considering who their audience will be. I do believe that the target audience for this show will be much smaller than what they are predicting. The show had a very quick run, beginning in 1987 and going off air in 1991.

As you can see from the above picture, Full House was a product of the 90s, and I fear that its family-orientated, lesson-learning style of comedy may not be appealing anymore. Growing up, when I watched Full House, I would think of it as an ‘old show’, and now upon its return, I feel that many people will still view the show in that way. I’m really curious to see how they adapt to fit current Hollywood needs and desires. For the die-hard Full House fans, though, this must be the best news of the week. I know co-stars Candace Cameron Bure and Andrea Barber (D.J. Tanner and Kimmy Gibbler) sure are excited. Barber tweeted at Bure, “Are you ready to be best friends again, @candacebure?” To which Bure replied, “We never stopped.”

And for everyone who welcomed the Tanner family into their living room, get ready to welcome them to your desktop at work or in bed (wherever your Netflix destination may be) next year!